'Won’t hesitate to...': US warns Russia, North Korea of more sanctions over arms deal

The United States has warned of more sanctions on Russia and North Korea as Kim Jong Un arrived in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin recently, giving rise to concerns about a possible arms deal between the two countries, which has remained the talk of the town for quite some time now.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, the official spokesperson of the US Department of State, Matthew Miller said, “And then I want to speak specifically for a second about the idea of North Korea providing weapons to Russia, which I spoke to the other day but I don’t think you were here. One, just the overall context, and one thing it’s important to restate again is that a year and a half ago Vladimir Putin launched this war thinking he was going to restore the glory of the Russian empire, failed in all of his maximalist, imperialist aims, and now a year and a half later, after losing tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and spending billions and billions of dollars, here he is begging Kim Jong-un for help.”

READ | J-K: 3 security personnel martyred in gunfight with terrorists in Anantnag, DGP Dilbag Singh pays tribute

“So it says something about the overall context of how this war is going for Russia. And concerning what any outcomes might be, we have taken several entities – actions already to sanction entities that have brokered arms sales between North Korea and Russia, and we won’t hesitate to impose additional actions if appropriate,” he added.

Miller also stated that there is a “possibility” of weapons flowing two ways here between Russia and North Korea, as he underlined how the war unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine resulted in the loss of billions of dollars as well as thousands of Russian soldiers.

“So we’re going to watch very closely what comes out of this. I spoke to this somewhat the other day. We’re looking at – I will say there are two different – there are possibilities of weapons flowing two different ways here, right? So concerning either direction, we would watch very closely and be concerned, and will not hesitate to impose sanctions if and when it’s appropriate,” Miller said.

He also highlighted how “troubling” it is to see the cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

READ | Rare, unseen video of Nita Ambani dancing to Dholi Taro Dhol Baaje goes viral, watch

“I would say it is troubling when you see the Russians talking about cooperating with North Korea on programs that would violate UN Security Council resolutions that Russia itself voted for. Now, we obviously don’t – we haven’t seen the full manifestation of this meeting yet or what the full outcomes of this meeting will be, but when you see the two – when you see Kim Jong-un vowing to provide full, unconditional support for Russia’s so-called “sacred fight” to defend its security interests, which of course is not what it’s doing concerning the war in Ukraine, that of course is troubling,” Miller told the reporters.

Notably, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday for a closely watched summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia marks his first foreign trip since the Covid-19 pandemic as during the pandemic, North Korea’s borders were sealed. Issuing support to Moscow in the ongoing war in Ukraine, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told President Vladimir Putin that Russia will emerge victorious in the fight to “punish the evil forces”, adding that he would “always be standing with Russia”, according to CNN.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the country is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea, CNN reported citing Russian state news agency Russia 1.